Christmas and the Glory of God

The Christmas story speaks of the glory of God. Perhaps this is not peculiar since the Bible talks about God’s glory hundreds of times. Yet, there is something gripping as we read that, ‘the glory of the Lord shone round about them’ ‘and they were sore afraid’. Everywhere I read there is fear when God shows His glory. Exodus tells us, ‘the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount’. Moses was not allowed to see God’s glory directly, ‘And it shall come to pass; while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen’.

There was glory, and majesty, might, and resplendent power, killing power, in the refulgence of His face. The glory. The Glory. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased. Astonishingly, He refers to us. We who are made of dust. Men of bloodied hands, who hate our neighbors, covet, and take His name in vain—to us he announces peace among men ‘with whom He is pleased’.

God hid Himself from Moses so that Moses could, ‘only see my back parts’. Yet, on that first Christmas He took on flesh and bone, the dust of men, and for some short years showed His forward parts to a few blessed disciples in a backwater part of the world. Did they see His glory? Some did at the transfiguration. Most did not. They crucified the Lord of Glory. Then with glory hidden He walked in the garden with Mary and on the road to Emmaus. A glimpse, ‘Mary’, and He bowed His head to give thanks so the disciples would know, and slipped away. He left behind this inglorious world to claim His kingdom, the city where there is no night for God is its light. His glory is now reclaimed.

The heavens declare the glory of God as do the mouths of men when rightly fitted. We walk, we march, we dance, we sing, we stumble and repent, and run the race set before us. We carry in our souls the unshakable knowledge that our God is with us. We are not shuffling out of Eden. The second Adam turned us around. We are pacing sometimes slow and sometimes more lightly a path that leads to golden streets. We go from victory to victory. I read of Billy Bray who said that wherever he walked one foot said ‘Glory’ and the other foot said ‘Amen.’ I prayed today that my feet would be like his, glory and amen. May the glory of the Lord shine round about us and may His birth bring us peace.

Merry Christmas,

Don Schanzenbach